A GMC Envoy belonging to Linda Reed, 65, was found Monday in a wooded area on Interstate 55 near the south Crystal Springs exit, Sheriff Harold Jones said. The vehicle didn't appear to be damaged, and Reed's purse, cellphone and keys were found inside it, Jones said.

Reed was last seen leaving the Walmart in Hazlehurst at 7:45 p.m. Sunday, Jones said.

"(Reed was seen) on surveillance video at Walmart. We saw that she was OK. She got in her car at Walmart and left. I think she got some groceries and a few other items, and from that time on, she's unaccounted for," Jones said.

Officials said the case is being treated as a criminal investigation.

Emergency crews were used dogs and all-terrain vehicles to search the area on Monday for Reed. The search for Reed was suspended late Monday.

"We're going to start doing a crime scene investigation. Basically, we're going (to send) crime scene (technicians) to her house over close to the sheriff's office. We're going to take her vehicle to the sheriff's office for processing," Jones said.

Metro One helicopter and Pike County bloodhounds joined the search. Local fire departments, friends and Reed's co-workers from Moore Fabrications fanned out across the area, as well.

"It's hectic, as you can imagine. Cindy, her daughter, is just trying her best to get a grip on things. She's just trying to figure out what's happened," said Reed's friend Chris Green.

The sheriff said he was hoping the search would reveal Reed had simply wandered off.

"All of us are of the consensus that she's not here. So if she's not here, somebody took her," Jones said.

The sheriff's said family friends told him that her disappearance is not normal, which is why the case is being treated as a criminal investigation.